The Duke's Pampered Darling is So Scheming

Chapter 599: Chapter 599: Seeing Off with Wine

That sounded reasonable enough, but on second thought, it made no sense at all!

”You... you’re really hiding some deep secrets...”

Princess Qingyang wracked her brain, but she couldn’t find the words to describe the utter shock she felt.

”In a place like the Capital City, how could you possibly keep such a huge secret!?”

Since Ye Chutang’s return to the capital, she’s been caught in one mess after another. Countless eyes were watching her, from top to bottom, inside and out!

And right under their noses, she had been brazenly raising an eagle!

Even Princess Qingyang, who had visited the Ye Mansion so many times, had never noticed anything amiss. If Ye Chutang hadn’t deliberately summoned it this time, she suspected she would have never known.

Ye Chutang, however, didn’t seem to think it was a big deal and offered a perfect explanation: ”Because it’s not usually here.”

”Huh?”

”Unless I have a reason to call it, it spends most of its time out in the wild. Even when it flies back, it just circles high above and never lands.”

Eagles are extremely wary creatures. They will never descend to make contact unless they trust someone completely.

”Besides... I’m usually quite busy, and I often forget to feed it.” For once, Ye Chutang looked a little embarrassed. ”Over time, it just got used to hunting for its own food.”

Princess Qingyang: ”...”

’You don’t even feed it, and you still have the nerve to say you raised it?’

’And it still comes whenever you call?’

’Why couldn’t I have a bird like that!’

Princess Qingyang’s feelings were a complicated mix, and the way she looked at Ye Chutang changed slightly.

”And it’s still completely loyal to you?”

Ye Chutang nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. ”I saved its parents, and it as well.”

It was a coincidence, really. At first, she was just trying to find some wild game for Yan, A Feng, and Xiao Wu to eat, but she happened to stumble upon an eagle with an arrow wound.

She followed it back to its nest and found several young eaglets, chirping with hunger.

”Several!?”

Princess Qingyang’s eyes widened.

”So, you’re raising more than one?”

Ye Chutang mentally counted, then nodded.

They didn’t cost much to keep anyway, so she just ”raised” them all.

Princess Qingyang’s gaze turned distant. ”...I suppose so. With your ’method’ of raising them, you could afford a hundred more... Your luck is really something else.”

Ye Chutang didn’t mention that, at the time, she had actually planned on taking the whole family and... dealing with them. But at the last moment, for some reason, seeing the little eaglets huddled together and shivering, her heart suddenly softened, and she relented.

She reflected on it later and realized that in that moment, she must have seen something of herself in them...

As for everything that happened after, she simply let nature take its course.

After listening, Princess Qingyang sighed with emotion. ”Well, regardless, it’s good that we can find out what’s happening over there more quickly. Chutang, what do you think I should do now? Should I keep pretending I don’t know anything?”

She looked at Ye Chutang, her eyes pleading for help. All her former pride and willfulness had vanished, replaced by overwhelming worry.

Ye Chutang was silent for a moment before shaking her head.

”For now, this matter shouldn’t be made public. But there is one person who must be told.”

”I’ll go with you to the Dingbei Marquis Mansion.”

...

「Outside the Capital City, in a dilapidated pavilion.」

The night slowly gave way to the first light of dawn.

Two men sat facing each other in the pavilion. On the crumbling stone table between them sat two empty wine jugs.

Shen Yanchuan gazed toward the distant horizon. The faint scent of wine clung to him, but his voice was clear and calm when he spoke.

”I’ve said everything I needed to say. As for which path you choose to take... that’s up to you.”

Xie Anbai, sitting across from him, kept his head lowered, as still as a statue.

He had been in that position for a very long time.

Finally, at Shen Yanchuan’s words, he slowly lifted his head.

Had anyone else been there to see him, they would have been utterly shocked by his appearance.

The once debonair Second Young Master Xie was like a different person now—unshaven and haggard.

Where was the handsome, carefree young nobleman of the past?

Ever since Xie Pei’s death, Xie Anbai had been in a listless daze, unable to accept what had happened. With Xie Anjun targeting him at every turn, every moment in the Xie Family had become unbearable, so he had simply decided to leave.

’If this place doesn’t want me, there are plenty of other places that will!’

’He could survive just fine even without the Xie Family!’

But Xie Anbai hadn’t expected to be overtaken by Shen Yanchuan so soon after leaving the city.

Shen Yanchuan had even brought two jugs of wine with him.

And so, the two of them had sat drinking in the pavilion from midnight until daybreak.

Shen Yanchuan had told Xie Anbai everything he had discovered from his investigation.

Xie Anbai’s lips were dry and cracked. They trembled as he slowly began to speak.

”...So, he’s the one who killed my father?”

He spoke slowly, softly, each word an immense effort.

The things Shen Yanchuan had told him contained too much to process. He had gone from initial disbelief, to shock, and now to a numb rage...

An endless fury coiled in his chest, suffocating him until he felt he could barely breathe.

Shen Yanchuan paused. ”I’ve only told you what I found. We can’t be certain it was him just yet.”

Xie Anbai suddenly let out a cold laugh.

”If not him, then who could it be!? If he hadn’t committed such a monstrous crime, how could my father have—”

His laughter grew louder, his eyes filled with despair and bitter indignation.

”How dare he... How could he!?”

CRASH—!

He violently smashed the wine jug on the ground, but his body trembled uncontrollably.

’All these years, he knew his father favored his older brother. He knew he was the unloved, disliked son. So he’d played the part of the good-for-nothing, earning himself a terrible reputation. He thought that would satisfy everyone, but... it still wasn’t enough!’

’He didn’t understand. He truly didn’t understand.’

’They shared the same blood, so why was his father so biased? And why did the one who was given everything feel not a shred of gratitude, but instead chose to bleed them all dry and drive them to their doom!?’

’His father was even willing to die for that man! Just to ensure his safety!’

Shen Yanchuan said, ”Perhaps your father did it not just for Xie Anjun, but for the entire Xie Family.”

The expression on Xie Anbai’s face slowly faded.

’Of course, he knew that.’

’But if Xie Anjun hadn’t been so audacious and committed such a grave error, would the Xie Family ever have ended up in this state?’

”You said the man he recommended was named Zheng Baosu?”

”Yes.”

”Was he trying to curry favor with Fan Chengzhuo? I had no idea he was on such good terms with that man...”

Shen Yanchuan was quiet for a long while before saying, ”He can’t practice martial arts, but planting his own man in the army would be a good move.”

The Xie Family Army would have to show him some deference.

Xie Anbai scoffed as if he’d heard a joke. ”He can’t even understand a Military Book, yet he’s already overreaching like this! Does he really think that by finding someone who knows how to fight, he can build a network in the army!?”

Shen Yanchuan suddenly smiled.

”And you think that Zheng Baosu is truly so valiant and heroic?”